Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
Dream of Night was a thoroughbred horse with memories of his racing days in his head. He hates man because all man has done to him has been neglect him, starve him, and beat him with the chains.
Shiloh has been bounced from one foster family to another. She's at her last stop before the locked doors of the reformatory.
Jessalynn lives simply, rescuing horses and living on her old farm. She has taken in foster children in the past, but she's getting too old and has agreed to take just this one last case.
When Shiloh arrives, Jessalynn knows that there are secrets and horrors in the child's past and she will need to take it slow. Shiloh is full of anger and does everything she can to get Jessalynn to react. But nothing Shiloh does seems to get a rise out of the old woman.
Jessalynn hopes that by going slowly, she can draw Shiloh out. But it turns out that the wild black horse in the field is what finally gets to Shiloh. Dream of Night doesn't attack when Shiloh ventures to his fence. And, slowly, the two of them form a bond, learning to trust again.
What a wonderful novel! Told in alternating voices with Jessalynn, Shiloh, and Dream, the reader experiences what each of the characters are encountering. I loved getting to look inside Dream's thoughts; I could imagine the horse thinking exactly those things. Shiloh is portrayed as any troubled teenager would be...cautious, caustic, and distrusting. But it's Jessalynn's simple, relaxed manner that brings the entire story together.
Dream of Night was a thoroughbred horse with memories of his racing days in his head. He hates man because all man has done to him has been neglect him, starve him, and beat him with the chains.
Shiloh has been bounced from one foster family to another. She's at her last stop before the locked doors of the reformatory.
Jessalynn lives simply, rescuing horses and living on her old farm. She has taken in foster children in the past, but she's getting too old and has agreed to take just this one last case.
When Shiloh arrives, Jessalynn knows that there are secrets and horrors in the child's past and she will need to take it slow. Shiloh is full of anger and does everything she can to get Jessalynn to react. But nothing Shiloh does seems to get a rise out of the old woman.
Jessalynn hopes that by going slowly, she can draw Shiloh out. But it turns out that the wild black horse in the field is what finally gets to Shiloh. Dream of Night doesn't attack when Shiloh ventures to his fence. And, slowly, the two of them form a bond, learning to trust again.
What a wonderful novel! Told in alternating voices with Jessalynn, Shiloh, and Dream, the reader experiences what each of the characters are encountering. I loved getting to look inside Dream's thoughts; I could imagine the horse thinking exactly those things. Shiloh is portrayed as any troubled teenager would be...cautious, caustic, and distrusting. But it's Jessalynn's simple, relaxed manner that brings the entire story together.
